Shadowing Practice: The Drug Experience That Changed Josh Brolin Forever - Learn English Speaking with Video
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81 sentences
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Have you ever lived like that?
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No, no, I've never even done coke.
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Wow.
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Yeah, I've never fucked around with coke.
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I like psychedelics, I like weed, I like a little alcohol every now and then, but I don't fuck around with anything that's gonna kill me.
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I'm not interested.
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Yeah.
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And I'm not interested in anything that helps my ego, that boosts it up, makes me fearless.
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That bloats it?
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I'm not interested in any of that.
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Yeah.
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I like things that make me scared.
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I like things that make me nervous.
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That's what I was talking about early on.
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What do you...
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I like to feel vulnerable.
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I like it.
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You like to challenge yourself.
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Yeah, I think your perception and how you perceive certain things.
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I think I like voluntary adversity Physical voluntary adversity, but also I think mental voluntary adversity
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and I think that's what I like about like psychedelics I
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think there's like a you have to go on like a journey
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and you can't control it It's you it takes you somewhere
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and then when you're back you realize like you ain't shit Just get all
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that ego stuff out of your system relax and just be appreciative
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and enjoy life and try to spread as much Positivity as you can.
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That's what you're here for do your best at everything you do That's what you're here for
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and how do you find yourself doing that once you're not on it?
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Incorporation of it into your life remember, you know I just I've it's
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so there's profound moments where I think you know change you forever
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And those if you can hold on to them some people don't hold on them, but it's a matter of intention, right?
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It's a matter of like what are you trying to do?
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You're trying to be better at life Well, if you're trying to be better at life, you can hold on to it If you're not if you're just trying to like be the man or you know Exactly,
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you know I get all the accolades or you know win a fucking Grammy
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or whatever you're trying to do Like
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if that's your real goal like you're gonna get lost
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because it's a shitty goal How old were you when you took a hallucinogen for the first time 30?
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I was 13.
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Whoa, so that's a little too early I wouldn't recommend that I wouldn't recommend it either, but it changed my life And I had by the way,
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I took it twice in a 24 -hour period Whoa, so I took it 13 had the greatest trip ever like still affected by it Wow,
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and then I took it again that night and went to hell.
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Oh, no, I don't know.
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Yeah cocky No Psychedelics want to bring it down a notch.
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It just did what it did it did it did and I truly believe that psychedelics I don't do psychedelics anymore, but I think I did but I do breath work.
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I do shit like that And you go can you get there and I go yeah, I've had some of the most amazing hallucinations I've ever had most profound hallucinations.
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I've ever had holotropic breathing Breath work with layered going off and if you do it long enough,
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you just reach a place or if you're in a sauna At 240 degrees for an hour doing breath work.
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Oh, yeah, you're gonna go places.
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Yeah, no doubt Sensory deprivation tank, you don't need anything and you trip balls
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if they could give you in a pill form What the
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experience you get from a psych from a sensory deprivation tank would be a very popular drug Yeah, and it's completely safe and a productive drug.
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Yes, very productive So there's sensory you say the sensory deprivation tank
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But I just saw you can see it online
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or whatever where people literally put a thing they go into a room their silence It's not like a um, you know, where they don't talk a meditation retreat or whatever,
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but they literally go into a room by themselves.
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They don't see anybody else.
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They put a thick mask on and they're in for four days, five days.
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Have you seen that?
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I have heard of people doing stuff like that.
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Yeah.
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What about that?
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Well, I think being alone with your thoughts is uncomfortable for people.
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And I think a lot of people avoid that.
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They avoid really thinking and you're forced to really think, you know, when you're in those sorts of situations, you're, you're forced to be alone with your thoughts,
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You know scary, but we're always distracted.
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You know, we're just especially now people and devices and input
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and news and Social media and there's like constantly stuff coming in
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and sometimes you don't like how do I feel about everything?
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Like what do I even know do it have I ever
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really considered things like you need time alone You need time to think you know, that's what I really like about
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but that's why I work out by myself That's why I like you work up by yourself.
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Yeah Hmm.
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Yeah.
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I don't like having a trainer.
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I mean, I've had a lot of trainers I appreciate them for technical advice
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and stuff like that But this is a meditative aspect of working out by myself
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that I think is very important It's also discipline like I know it's easy to go somewhere
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and the guy tells you okay ten reps But I write my own workouts out and based on that day.
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Yeah, well, I know what I want to do I you know, I'm pretty good at it.
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So it's funny.
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I haven't heard many people say that but I I, I, I feel, and it's not just some bullshit like ass.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 81 sentences and 980 words to shadow. The speech runs for 4:38. The speaker talks fast, about 212 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 82% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| breathe verb | /bɹiːð/ | To draw air into (inhale), and expel air from (exhale), the lungs in order to extract oxygen and excrete waste gases. |
| sensory adjective | /ˈsɛn.sə.ɹi/ | Of the physical senses or sensation. |
| voluntary adjective | /ˈvɑ.lənˌt(ɛ)ɹi/ | Done, given, or acting of one's own free will. |
| productive adjective | /pɹəˈdʌk.tɪv/ | Capable of producing something, especially in abundance; fertile. |
| coke noun | /koʊk/ | Solid residue from roasting coal in a coke oven; used principally as a fuel and in the production of steel and formerly as a domestic fuel. |
| trainer noun | /ˈtɹeɪnɚ/ | A person who trains another; a coach. |
| profound adjective | /pɹəˈfaʊnd/ | Descending far below the surface; opening or reaching to great depth; deep. |
| silence noun | /ˈsaɪ̯ləns/ | The absence of any sound. |
| thick adjective | /θɪk/ | Relatively great in extent from one surface to the opposite in its smallest solid dimension. |
| aspect noun | /ˈæspɛkt/ | Any specific feature, part, or element of something. |
| boost verb | /buːst/ | To lift or push from behind (one who is endeavoring to climb); to push up. |
| layer noun | /ˈleɪ̯ɚ/ | A single thickness of some material covering a surface. |
| scary adjective | /ˈskɛə.ɹi/ | Causing fear or anxiety |
| input noun | /ˈɪnpʊt/ | The act or process of putting in; infusion. |
| rep noun | /ɹɛp/ | A fabric made of silk or wool, or of silk and wool, and having a transversely corded or ribbed surface. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| work out verb | /ˌwɝk ˈaʊt/ | To calculate. |
| go off verb | To explode. | |
| work up verb | To raise; to excite; to stir up. |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 47 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, don't, I've. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: breathe /bɹiːð/, thick /θɪk/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: intention /ɪnˈtɛnʃn̩/, perception /pɚˈsɛpʃ(ə)n/, meditation /mɛdɪˈteɪʃn̩/, deprivation /ˌdɛp.ɹɪˈveɪʃən/, hallucination /həˌluːsɪˈneɪʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: voluntary /ˈvɑ.lənˌt(ɛ)ɹi/, psychology /saɪˈkɑ.lə.d͡ʒi/, uncomfortable /ʌnˈkʌm.fɚ.tə.bl̩/, psychedelic /ˈsaɪ.kəˌdɛl.ɪk/, adversity /ædˈvɜː.sɪ.ti/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like breathe, sensory, voluntary.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.